Earth 2
After traveling to orbit became much cheaper in the 2040s due to scram jet launching systems, space colonies became much easier to establish. Initial colonization The United States established colonies on Luna and Mars. Russia established colonies on Mars and Titan. China established colonies on Luna, which were conquered by India during the third World War, and Europa, Io, Callisto, and Ganymede. The European Union established colonies in the Asteroid Belt. Japan established colonies in the Asteroid Belt. The United Kingdom established colonies in vital trade locations such as Phobos and Vesta. WW3 In 2098, five powers with five objectives allied themselves against the United States and Western Democracy. * Russia: Wanted control of Alaska and Central Europe, especially Germany. Also wanted the rest of Mars, * China: Wanted to take over Taiwan and Japan * Iran: Wanted to conquer Iraq and Israel * North Korea: Wanted to conquer South Korea. * Pakistan: Wanted to conquer India. The west was weary but open conflict did not start until the March of 2104, when an economic crisis caused by a lack of oil prompted Iran to invade Iraq. The united states condemned this invasion, especially when a Russian space craft used orbital bombardment against Baghdad. In retaliation, a coalition force of American and British soldiers invaded the Iranian conquered Iraq in June. After that the war began in earnest. North Korea invaded South Korea in July with Russian space support and Chinese air support. Weeks later, China launched a massive naval campaign against Japan. They were initially repelled by American forces but were successful after half the American pacific fleet had to withdraw to protect Alaska after it was invaded by Russia in August. After some initial success in Alaska, due to surprise and the spread of US forces, the Russians successfully captured Alaska's oil in the north though not its oil in the south. They continued to push southward but were defeated at The Battle of Fairbanks in April of 2105. After this battle the Russian Army was forced to retreat northward again and decided to forgo further invasion, instead resorting to trench warfare to keep their current Alakan territories. Pakistan was supposed to wait to Invade India until after China had successfully conquered Japan, however, in May of 2105 they became inpatient and instead invaded immediately. Their invasion went extremely poorly. The Indian military managed to route the Pakistani forces and counter invaded into Pakistani territory. Pakistan was in severe danger but the Chinese military managed to open a second war front and invaded India. The Sino-Indian campaign was very successful in its opening months; by October the Chinese had captured New Delhi. Around the same time, they successfully concluded their invasion of Japan. Post WW3 status quo. After the third world war the three great powers on earth were the British Commonwealth, the United States, and the Indo-Lunar Federation. The colonies had three great powers of their own. The Titanian Hegemony, which included Titan, Enclaedus, and most of Mars, the Outer Sattelite Confederation, which contained the Asteroid Belt, and the People's Jovian Republic, which included Europa, Io, Callisto, and Ganymede. During the post war period there were two loose alliances, One between the UKC, USA, and ILF, and one between the PJR and Titanian Hegemony. Both those alliances claimed jurisdiction of the Asteroid Belt which claimed independence. The PJR and the Hegemony needed agriculture and bio engineering from earth, while earth was experiencing an economic crisis and needed water and other supplies from space. After the economic crisis was over both coalitions began sending Bussard Ram Jet probes to nearby star systems. During this time the Thoth-Alcubierre drive was invented. It warped space allowing for faster travel when far enough from a star's gravity well. Due to their position on the outside of the solar system, the PJR and the hegemony found it easier to send out colonies. Most of the early Earth based colonies were private instead of government supported. The two coalitions signed a treaty limiting extra-solar expansion. The First Solar War Tensions rose, and eventually culminated in another war. Once once side their was the Kronos Pact: OSC rebels, led by General Hans Reichman, wanted independence. The Titanian Hegemony wanted to control American colonies on Mars and the British colony on Phobos. The PJR wanted control of earth so that they could accelerate terraforming. Then there was the UN: The Indo-Lunar federation wanted to keep control of the OSC in order to keep the flow of water for lunar colonization. The Americans wanted to destroy their old enemies the hegemony. The British wanted to maintain their trade colonies. At the end of this war the Hegemony lost control of Mars and the OSC gained independence. Notable Humans Anne Road was a belter who left home to go to the interstellar colonies. She snuk aboard a corporate ship and was taken to a secret corporate colony. She befriended one of the genetically engineered creatures there. A large octopus that can survive in space, designed for asteroid mining. The Cold War and Nuclear Rain On Earth-Calendar September 30, 121399, a Cold War began on Mars when Stephen Woden Prime accidentally left behind a small piece of paper with the schematics to different kinds of bombs. On November 12, 121584, a Nuclear War broke out